Pines Under The Mountain
by Silvan Sagevale
Summary: Dipper and Mable were exploring Mt. Ebbot looming over Gravity Falls, investigating the rumors and legends of people being taken by monsters, never to return. Fortunately or unfortunately depending on your views, these legends were true and the Mystery Twins find themselves swept into a grand adventure! [Title Changed for Originality]
1. Howdy

_**Under Falls**_

Summary: Sometime after Ford's introduction but before Weirdmagedon. Dipper and Mable climb the mountain to investigate rumors of monsters and disappearances that have surrounded its peak centuries. Little do they know that not only were the rumors true, but they'd be sucked into a tale of epic proportions.

Pacifist Route but that doesn't mean Chara will serve no purpose, and not in the way I KNOW you're all thinking. The Gravity Falls part of this is going to be slightly AU, I'm gonna tweak Dipper and Mable's relationship with their parents so them eventually calling Toriel mom makes more sense, Also Dipper's manliness training with the Manotuars stuck a bit he won't _quite_ as wimpy.

OKAY voices for the Undertale characters for this fic

Flowey: CrashBoomBanger tumblr

Toriel: Rose Quartz's voice

Virgil (A.K.A: Chara): V'uhsslg hfrly

Kid Asriel: Simba's voice from the Lion King.

Oh, should I give Chara a proper name? Or stick with Chara? And should I have them meet Omega/Cthulhu/Photoshop Flowey and THEN do the True Pacifist Ending or have them meet the requirements first and skip Omega Flowey?

Chapter 1: Howdy, I'm Flowey…DIE!

Dipper Pines groaned in pain as consciousness began to return to his slightly concussed mind. Slowly he flipped over from his aching stomach to his less aching back and looked up. Above he could see the ceiling of the cavern and the hole he and Mab…

"Mable!" Dipper shouted as his memory finally kicked in. As quickly as his bruised bones and muscles would let him Dipper got up and frantically began to search the cavern, or rather cave.

He found that he had fallen onto a bed of golden flowers, buttercups? Somehow they must have broken his fall because a fall from that height should have broken half the bones in his body at least. He could only hope Mable was as lucky as him.

Fortunately the cave was small and didn't take long to find his sister in the thick bed of flowers.

Though still unconscious as Dipper examined her Mable didn't seem any worse of then him. In fact she seemed to have fared better, though there was a nasty bruise on her head that worried him.

"Mable, Mable come on wake up, if you have a concussed you can't sleep!" He said to the young girl and after some prodding she stirred and began to wake.

"Dipper?" She mumbled as she sat up and rubbed her head, only to hiss in pain as she pressed on the ugly purple bruise on head. "What happened?" She groaned her question.

"Well, we were walking through the woods looking for clues on the rumors of people disappearing; the earth suddenly opened beneath us, then gravity did the rest." Dipper explained, trying to make light of their predicament a bit to ease the mood.

"Gravity did a lot, ow." Mable said lamely as she stood up with Dipper's help. She her legs nearly gave out but she managed to stay on her feet and was confident enough she didn't need to lean on her brother for support.

So with both of them now vertical, the twins looked up at the hole the fell through. It was wide with the odd root dangling around it; the foliage must have hid it from their view or held a thin layer of dirt together that couldn't handle their weight. But that wasn't important, what was important was that it was four storied above them and there was no way to climb the walls to reach it.

"Do you think your grappling hook could reach the hole?" Dipper asked as he tried to judge the exact distance it was.

"Maybe." Mable took out her grappling hook and shot it at the hole, but just as it looked like it was going to clear the ceiling it bounded off of nothing and the air where it hit rippled.

"What!?" They both cried out with confusion.

"Yeah, that's not gonna work!" A cheerful voice said behind them with a good natured laugh.

The Mystery Twins quickly turned around, startled by the voice, but they didn't see anything. At their furtherly confused expressions the voice piped in again.

"Down here!"

They looked down and they saw another flower…but this one had a face. A face that looked like it belonged an on 50s silent cartoon character. It waved at them with a friendly smile with one of its leaves.

"Howdy! I'm Flowey, Flowey the Flow-"

"AHHH! Sin against nature!" Mable screamed hysterically as she hid behind Dipper, peaking over his shoulder to watch the little plant cautiously.

Flowey gave the girl and the wide-eyes boy a worried smile, his pedals wilting a bit sympathetically. "Golly, I didn't mean to scare you! I just wanted to help, you two look awful lost."

Dipper could only stare at the thing with skepticism. "There is a cartoon flower talking to me asking if we need help. Yup, I the fall killed us."

The flower let out a giggle that was almost too sweet to the ears, and that was enough to win over Mable who crept over the Dipper's side and lowered herself closer to Flowey's level. "Hehehehe, no you're not dead. You fell into the Underground!" Seeing that they were still confused he decided to continue. "Gosh, I can tell you're both very confused, guess I'll just have to show you how things work down here, huh?"

Mable was about to eagerly agree with the little flower and Dipper grabbed her and huddled with her, their backs to the flower that titled his head with a curious frown on his face.

"I don't like this Mable, there is something off about this "Flowey" that I can't quite place." Dipper whispered his concerns.

"Oh come on, bro-bro. Just looks at him, he's so cute, and how much harm could a little flower do?" She argued looking back to smile at the flower, who returned the smile and waved at her.

"Mmmm…" Dipper hummed unsurely, also looking back. "Mmmm…" He hummed again, looking at Mable. He then clenched his eyes shut and with a groan he relented. "Urgh, fine. We'll listen to the freakin' flower."

Faster than you can say "glitter" Mable dragged Dipper back to the flower. Flowey actually flinched a bit from the suddenness of their approach but quickly recovered. "Alright then, where we go!"

Both children suddenly felt a strange pulling sensation in their chest where their hearts would be and as they simultaneously made to grab at the feeling they saw an intense glow radiate from there.

On Mable's chest a golden heart appeared, shining brightly as it pulsed with her heartbeat and on Dippers a deep red heart appeared glowing with an inner strength as it too pulsed his heartbeat.

Seeing Dipper's made the flower hesitate for a moment. For that moment Dipper was sure he saw recognition, a kind of nostalgia in the plants eyes. But the expression was so brief he could be sure.

"See those hearts?" Flowey asked rhetorically, quickly recovering from the brief pause. "Those are your Souls, the very culmination of your beings."

'Our souls?' Dipper thought, this somehow sounding familiar.

"Your souls start out small, weak and frail. But you can make it stronger if you gain a lot of LV." Flowey explained.

"What's LV?" Mable asked curiously.

"Sounds like we're in an RPG." Dipper commented, trying to be aloof.

"Why LOVE of course!" Flowey said cheerily, giving a wink…was that an anime eye-twinkle? "You want lots of LOVE don't ya?"

Urgh, this think was just oozing sugary cheer like a busted candy dispenser. And Mable was eating it up like Smile Dip.

Then a number of white floating pellets appeared from him, forming a half-circle over the flower's head. "Down here we share love through…" He paused looking at the projectiles his smile changed in a subtle way. Mable didn't notice but Dipper knew something was up. "Little white "Friendliness Pellets"." They suddenly shot towards the twins at the slow pace. "Catchall you can!"

Mable was about to do just that, but then Dipper tackled her and they missed, flying over the twins heads.

"What the heck!" Mable complained.

"There is something seriously wrong here Mable! You don't shoot friendship at people!" Dipper exclaimed.

"Heh heh, HEH _ **EHEHEHA!**_ " They heard Flowey laughing turn from endearing to sinister almost instantly. _**"You know what going on, don't you?"**_ He ask, his voice reverberating on itself in strange tone shifts and his face stretched into a maniacal toothy grin. _**"HAHAHAHAHA, Idiots, who can pass up an opportunity like this? In this world it's Kill or BE Killed!"**_

Before they could react a ring of bullets surrounded the twins, leaving no room for escape. Flowey's face shifted into a more sinister smile, one that wouldn't be out of place on a gargoyle. _**"DIE."**_ He seemed to order before cackling like a maniac and the bullets slowly closed in.

"Dipper?" Mable murmured worriedly, feeling terrible for letting herself ne tricked so easily.

"It'll be okay, we'll get out of this." Dipper tried to reassure his sister, holding her close in an attempt to protect her from the projectiles.

But somebody came.

Suddenly a blast of blue fire struck the murder flower, sending it careening away and dispersing.

Both of the Pines Twins looked around in bewilderment as the blue flames slowly turn orange and died away. Not only that but their souls were still visible on their chests, though not glowing anymore, they almost looked like part of their clothes.

"What a horrible creature, tormenting these poor children." The most comforting voice either of them ever heard admonished behind them.

They did not expect what they saw when turned around.

Before them was a woman but she wasn't human. She looked like a humanoid goat. She was covered in snow white fur; she had paws instead of feet instead of hooves, two short horns on her head, long floppy ears, and two short, thick fangs that almost blended into her fur, or maybe that was just how their lips were shaped. She also wore regal looking purple and white robes with a symbol or heraldry on the chest in white.

Slowly the…satyr didn't sound right…caprataur? She kneeled down to their level and gave them a comforting smile, and despite himself Dipper couldn't help but let the strange creatures smile affect him. "Greetings little ones, I am Toriel the Caretaker for the Ruins." She spoke again, in that eerily familiar and all too comforting maternal voice.

"You're beautiful…" Mable said without thinking.

Toriel face turned to one of surprise and went a little pink before she laughed good-naturedly at the complement. "Oh, I'm flattered but a silly old woman like me is far past her prime." She waved it off modestly. "I was on my way to tend the gra-flowers…" She corrected herself. "It was a good thing too, I almost too late."

Dipper was about to say something but was cut off when he sneezed and a chill ran up his spine. He didn't notice before due to the adrenaline that was rushing through his system but it was incredibly cold down here. Mable too was shivering and he could see her breath as well as her own.

"Oh dear, you two must be freezing!" Toriel gasped in what seemed to be genuine concern, she offered her paw-like hand to them. "Come, my home is not far from here you can warm yourselves by my fireplace." She said in a strong, motherly tone that seemed to be her default way of speaking.

But after their run in with their last "friend" Dipper was not eager to trust anyone down here again. "How do we know you won't backstab us? That flower was all friendly too until he tried to kill us." Dipper questioned suspiciously.

Toriel's smile dimmed slightly but she never dropped it, and it still held the same maternal concern. "I promise you that I will protect and care for you for as long as you stay within the ruins." She reassured almost pleadingly, her eyes locking with his and Mable's.

"Dipper, I think we can trust her." Mable spoke up, her hand resting on her brother's shoulder as a sign of reassurance. "Flowey was just a fluke, not everyone down here can be bad." She concluded, her optimism ever shining through.

He wanted to disagree, he wanted take Mable by the hand and simply run pass the strange goat woman who, despite him knowing with complete certainty he never met before, felt so damned familiar! But that same feeling also told him that he can trust Toriel and that everything she'd do for them would be in their best interest.

"Dipper, please trust me." Mable pleaded moving her hand from his shoulde to squeeze her brother's hand. "I'm sure Toriel will help us."

"I promise to do my best for you." Toriel added.

Finally Dipper cracked, and he accepted Toriel's offer allowing her to take his hand while he held Mable's. Together they all stood up and began the journey to Toriel's home and as they walked she looked down the twins and gave them that motherly smile again, and even though he still wasn't completely sure he should trust her Dipper couldn't help but return it with his own small smile, Mable too returning it with a big toothy grin.

-Under Falls-

And there we go, Chapter 1 of Under Falls. I hope you all enjoyed it and expect to see more soon!


	2. Welcome Home

_**Under Falls**_

Chara will be named Virgil, and for anyone wondering about Dipper's and Mable's Souls. Dipper's is obviously Red and represents Determination ("I'm Dipper, I have shorts and Determination!") but Mable's is different from the Yellow soul of Justice, hers is golden and represents Optimism like how light blue is Patience and dark blue is Integrity.

Also, in umbrage of the Gravity Falls ciphers, I coded what Chara's/Virgil's see if you can crack it.

Chapter 2: Welcome Home

As they reached the entrance to the Ruins proper, Toriel insisted on giving them some first aid. Though they managed to avoid Flowey's attacks Dipper and Mable's fall into the Underground did not leave them unscathed, Dipper being especially beat up.

The worst Mable got was some bruising, a few minor cuts, and a minor concussion that Toriel already took care of, but Dipper had not only similar bruises but as the goat-woman examined him she found very worrying injuries. His chest had an ugly bruise on it that was almost black, it was amazing his ribs weren't broken, and he also had some cuts on his arms, legs, and one was particularly deep on his face slashed horizontally across his right cheek that he didn't notice before was bleeding profusely.

"It's no big deal; this isn't the first time I've been bruised up." Pff, yeah, it's the second time. Still, even if this didn't feel as bad as when Rumble beat the shit out of him and despite his tough guy act he had to admit this didn't feel much better in comparison.

"Don't be ridiculous, you're a mess!" Toriel protested as she hands glowed with an ethereal green light. "Now hold still while I heal your injuries." She placed them on his chest.

Almost immediately Dipper felt his aches and pains melt away. The black bruise on his chest was now yellows, greens, and browns. The others were nearly gone, the lesser cuts were now only irritated red lines, and the one on his face was much smaller, though it was still open and bled a little bit. Toriel took out a plain looking Band-Aid and placed over the cut on his cheek gently; she held her hand there for a second and gave him a gentle smile before standing up and leading him and Mable into the ruins.

"I told you we can trust her, why would she heal us if she was going to hurt us?" Mable said in an "I told you so" fashion, leaning over his shoulder while gripping both and playful making him shuffle them.

"Alright, I'll admit that Toriel seems to be a good person." Dipper relented with a bit of a chuckle.

Toriel let out a chuckle of her own at the twins' antics, holding a hand to her mouth. "I'm glad you think so highly of me, my children but we should get moving, your faces are already starting to turn pink from the cold." She urged while mirth still bubbled in her voice.

Dipper did not immediately follow after her though, instead gazing at the intimidating visage of the wall that separated the Ruins from where they entered the Underground. Mabel, noticing that her brother was not moving turned toward him and also stared into the monolithic structure.

 _You and Mable felt the shadow of the Ruins looming over you and are filled with Determination._

[File 1 Saved]

Dipper blinked in confusion of the symbols running through his head and the voice before them. It was strange, he didn't think that thought but the voice sounded-

"What was-Dipper did you feel that?" Mable said in a slightly panicked tone, interrupting his thoughts.

"I don't know, but look!" Dipper exclaimed gesturing toward the injuries he no longer had. "Whatever that thing is it completely healed me, even the cut on my face Toriel couldn't, and I feel like I can run full tilt up and down the mountain for hours!"

"I feel the same way; oh my God, Toriel! We better follow her before she gets worried!" Mable reminded herself and Dipper of the kindly goat-woman.

"Oh, right, let's go!" Dipper agreed and as he ran passed her he gripped Mable's hand and the duo entered the ruins.

"Oh there you two are, I was beginning you both wandered off." Toriel said with a sigh of relief as soon as she saw them pass through the doorway, placing a hand over her heart to emphasize her worry.

"Sorry, we thought we saw something but it turned out to be nothing." Dipper said quickly. Mable gave him a look but decided to let it go, how were they going to explain the found a hole in space-time that "Saved" something for them and screamed computer gibberish and random symbols at them anyways?

"Well please refrain from wondering off, the Ruins are easy to get lost in if you don't know where you're going." Toriel tutted but didn't look angry or upset in the slightest.

The trek through the ruins was fairly uneventful. As they traversed them Toriel explained the puzzles that littered the ruins and that while monsters my attack them that none of them actually wanted to hurt them and could be talked out of fighting. It wasn't until they got to the end of a long hallway that things got somewhat interesting.

"Children, I'm going to go on ahead." She informed the twins who gave her odd looks. "There is something I must do and I want you two to wait for me here until I return. There are puzzles up ahead that might be dangerous if I don't explain them"

"Alright Toriel." Mable agreed happily while Dipper looked skeptical.

Toriel smiled at the hyperactive girl, she then pulled out two large devices and gave them to the twins. "Here take this cell phone." She said as Mable took it and gave it a quizzical look. "Be good, my children. I'll try not to be long." And with that she was gone and so the dynamic duo sat down and waited.

Dipper looked at the phone with a thoroughly unimpressed expression. The phones looked ancient, were like big plastic bricks in the shape of an old landline phone. "This thing looks like a laptop…" He groused.

"I didn't know cell phones came this big." Mable said with a bit of awe in her voice. She slid her finger across the screen to turn it on but gave it a confused frown when nothing happened.

"It's a brick cell Mable, it was made before touch-screens became a thing." Dipper explained to his sister with an amused chuckle.

After a while the two began to get bored and they had no way of entertaining themselves. Dipper stood up and stretched his back cracking leaned back. "Hey, let's go explore the ruins. I'm getting bored just sitting here."

"But Toriel asked us to wait for her here." Mable argued uncertainly.

"We'll only be gone for a few minutes and if we get lost we can just call her." Dipper reasoned before turning toward the doorway. "Well, I'm gonna go. You can wait here if you want. Alone. With nothing to do." His voice taking on a teasing tone.

"Urgh, fine!" Mable relented quickly before she bounced to her feet and quickly fell into step beside her bother.

As they walked Dipper whistled in astonishment. "Wow, this place looks so old it must have been here for decades, centuries even." He observed quietly, his breath misting in the cold air.

"It looks like it has been abandoned for about that long too." Mable commented with a somewhat sad tone. "Does Toriel live here all by herself? I mean the only other monsters we've seen down here are those frog-things, those super shy fairies, and Flowey. And none of them seem much for conversation."

 _They both shivered as they remembered that demented daisy._

"I don't know Mable, for all we know she's the last of her kind and has been trapped down here like us." The cap-wearing twin guessed, and judging from the total lack of maintenance it was probably true.

As they entered another long hallway the phone Toriel rang, startling them in the otherwise too quite ruins.

Mable took the phone out of her skirt pocket and accepted the call, putting it on speaker as she did so Dipper could also hear.

[Hello this is Toriel] The familiar if slightly garbled voice of the kindly woman emitted from the outdated device. [I just realized that I may have left some things lying around, if you find them would you please pick them up for me?]

"Sure we can do that." Dipper accepted the request.

[Also, for no reason in particular, do you prefer cinnamon or butterscotch?] She asked in a way that utter failed at any kind of subtlety.

"Um, Cinn" "Butterscotch!" Mable shouted excitedly into the receiver, cutting off Dipper and probably deafening the poor woman's phone ear for a few seconds.

[Hehe, alright. Thank you both.] Toriel giggled lightly at Mable's energetic response before hanging up.

The twins took exactly one step when the phone went off again. Mable accepted the call with a bit of confusion.

[Um, well, neither of you _dislike_ cinnamon do you? I mean, you wouldn't turn your noses if you found it on your plates?] Toriel asked somewhat nervously, like she made a huge mistake that she had no way of fixing.

" _No, either is fine."_ The twins said at the same time and they stared at each other for a second before laughing at each other.

[Oh, good, thank you for your time.] Toriel said with a relieved sigh before the phone clicked off.

"She worries a lot doesn't she?" Mable said as they continued their way through the ruins, Dipper only nodded in agreement.

For a while nothing seemed to happen, they solved some progression puzzles that were not nearly as dangerous as Toriel made them out to be, they stumbled across a "Spider Bake Sale" and with the bit of gold coins they found scatter here and there they were able to get a couple donuts they planned on have later, Mabel found a cute little silk ribbon that she decided to tie into her hair while Dipper found a toy knife and pocketed it. But it wasn't until they came across a wide balcony that things really began to fall into perspective.

"Oh my god." Mable gasped in awe while Dipper simply let his jaw hang open at the sight.

Spanning before them, as far as they could see, was a massive underground city. Dark and decrepit from age and abandonment, patches of moss so large and thick they could see a quarter of what looked like a palace was covered in it.

"It's a city, no, it's a small kingdom!" Dipper exclaimed in shock at the sight, nearly overwhelmed.

"But, where is everyone? Why is Toriel the only one here?" Mable asked, confused and worried.

"I don't know, let's keep moving." Dipper said quickly turning and walking away, wanting to get away from the sight as quickly as possible. He didn't know why, but this vast and empty city deeply upset him.

"Dipper? Dipper!" Mable called out as she quickly followed him out; she found him standing just outside of the doorway his head hung low and his shoulders tense. She was at his side almost immediately and she placed a hand on his shoulder. "Dipper, are you okay? What was that all about?" She asked her brother worriedly.

"Haha…" He chuckled humorlessly, it was taking everything he had not to burst into tears and he had no idea why he felt like he should be in the first place. "I don't know Mable; I've been feeling weird ever since we fell down here Mable." He said with a strained smile. "Mable, I feel like I've been here before but I know I haven't. I feel a strange nostalgia when I look at Toriel, what Flowey said about Souls, even looking at our Souls feels familiar." He clutched at the red heart that was the metaphysical embodiment of his souls that pressed against his chest.

"Do you want to rest for a while?" Mable asked with concern.

Dipper shook his head. "No, I'm fine. Just…I don't know, but I'll be okay. Let's just keep moving." He relaxed his shoulders and raised his head already feeling better. That's Mable for you; she never had to do much to make him feel better.

"Okay, how about we go that way?" She offered toward the large open gateway with a seemingly dead tree beyond it.

"Yeah." Dipper agreed, clearing his throat.

About the same moment they approached the tree they heard a familiar voice.

"Oh dear, that took a longer than I thought it would." They heard Toriel's voice from behind the tree, a second later their phone rang. They heard Toriel gasp his she leaned over to see passed the large tree, her phone placed against one of her fluffy, floppy ear.

After that she couldn't get to the twins fast enough, and almost instantly she was kneeling in front of them. "Oh my god what are you two doing here? Are you hurt?" She nearly shouted worriedly as she examined them for any new injuries.

"Toriel calm down! We're fine, the worst we have are tired legs." Dipper said reassuringly to the dotting goat-lady.

Seeing that he was right, Toriel stood back up, place her hand over her heart and sighed in relief. "Thank goodness, well since you're already here let us go to my home. It's just beyond this tree."

Toriel's home was a small stone house and as they approached the twins felt that same feeling they got at the Ruins' entrance and at that leaf pile.

 _Seeing such a cute little house in the Ruins fills you both with Determination_

 _[File Saved]_

The moment they were in the house their noses were immediately greeted with the smell of cinnamon and butterscotch.

"You smell that?" Mable asked her brother giddily while tugging on his arm.

"Surprise, I've got a Butterscotch-Cinnamon Pie in the oven!" Toriel exclaimed with a smile.

'So that's why she asked which we preferred and why she called back all worried? She must have started on one and added the other to get the best of both.' Dipper concluded in his head.

"I want you both to be as comfortable as possible during your stay here." The goat woman said with a motherly smile. "So we'll hold off on snail pie for now."

That sounded like she's expecting them to stay here for a while.

"Come, I have something to show you." Toriel beckoned, she took them both by their hands and let the Pines twins down a hall. They trip was only a short few steps though, as Toriel stopped them in front of a door with them on either side of her. "Your very own room!" She nearly gushed. "I hope you both enjoy your time here." She concluded the statement with an affectionate hand placed on both twins' heads, gently rubbing their scalps.

"Uh, Ms. Toriel…" Dipper started but was cut off by the monster woman.

"Oh, something burning! Uh, I'll be back, go ahead and get settled in while I'm gone!" She stammered as she sprinted down the hall to the other end of the house.

Seeing as Toriel would be busy with the pie for a while, the tins decided to take her up on her offer and they entered the room together.

The room was a fair size, not big but not small either. There were two beds but one had a light layer of dust on its headboard, suggesting one was brought out of storage or something recently though both had clean sheets, blankets, and such; there were also some dressers a box filled with toys at the foot of the dustier bed, another box in the corner filled with different sized and styled shoes.

"Ah, what a cute little room!" Mable gushed as she ran over to the bed on the right side of the room and jumped in, bouncing a bit and sending what little dust that still clung to it into the air.

Not what the words Dipper would use but yes, it was a nice room. He strode over to the other bed and just looking at it made his eyelid heavy. It was only now that he realized how tired he felt now that he wasn't being attacked by a homicidal daisy, being dragged around by a seemingly kind and motherly goat lady, or exploring the ruins.

Despite his best efforts Dipper collapsed onto the bed and fell dead asleep.


	3. Mother Knew Best

_**Pines Tale**_

(Sorry that this one took longer than the others, been feelin' kinda lazy. Anyway I edited CH2 a bit, changing the way SAVING works for the twins, making it more instinctual than just the big dumb sparkles somewhat like how SAVING works in the fic Reach Out but not as powerful, they won't be able to teleport between Saves or fully manipulate time, took out the hint to Gaster, and had Dipper and Mabel find the toy knife and ribbon.)

Listening to the full Undertale OST to keep me DETERMINED!

Chapter 3: I'm Sorry Mother

The first thing Dipper noticed as he began to regain consciousness from the clutches of sleep was the smell of cinnamon and butterscotch.

'Did Grunkle Stan take up baking or something?' He thought groggily. 'Oh god, what if Mable did?'

It was then the boy opened his eyes and it was then that he remembered where he was and what happened. "Oh yeah, underground with a potentially homicidal faun that saved us with a definitely homicidal flower." Dipper said to himself as he stared at the ceiling.

A moment later he heard humming from behind the door growing louder as the person neared it and it was then that he noticed that Mabel's bed was empty. Before he could panic though the door opened and Mabel walked in with a fork in her mouth and two plates with slices of pie on them, the one in her left hand missing a couple pieces.

"Hm, hm, hm, hm, hmmm, hm?" She hummed before stopping suddenly, seeing her brother away she smiled, the fork pointing up from her mouth shifting and said cheerily. "Mornin' Difer, yu seep goob?" Her speech horrible garbled by the fork in her mouth.

"Mabel, what the hell are you doing!?" Dipper exclaimed quietly so as not to alert Toriel.

Mabel gasped in surprise, dropping he fork that luckily landed on her plate, she looked confused and kinda hurt at her brother's question and tone. "I was…helping with the pie and…I thought I'd bring you some for when you…woke up…" She replied with a look akin to that of a kicked puppy.

Dipper felt like a total ass for making his sister feel bad, but she shouldn't have left to interact with a complete stranger alone. Even if he personally felt, for reasons he couldn't comprehend, that Toriel was trust worthy. "I know Toriel seems nice but we can't be sure of that yet. We should stick together until we know she's not gonna turn on us like that flower did."

"I'm sorry." Mabel apologized.

"No, no I'm sorry." Dipper also apologized. "I shouldn't have snapped at you like that."

"It's just…Mom just been so nice to us, and just feel like we can trust her." Mabel hugged herself as best she could with two plates of pie in her hands and a small smile crept on her perpetually blushing face. "I feel safe around her."

"Mom? Why did you call Toriel mom?" Dipper asked with confusion.

"I don't know, it just slipped out when she woke me up a while ago to help with the pie, I was still half asleep. She looked…happy that I called her that, so I just kept calling her mom." The slightly elder twin explained before she gave her brother a worried look. "There's nothing wrong with that is there."

"What about our actual mother?" He asked but he wasn't really bothered by it.

Mabel looked a little guilty, but not much. "I hate to admit it, but Tori already feels like more of a parent than mom and dad ever did."

Dipper couldn't disagree with that since he kinda felt the same way. Their parents were never around much during their lives, always working or God knows what. When they said there would be "family bonding" over the summer they were so excited to finally spend a significant amount of time with their parent, only to have their hopes crushed when they were sent off to live with a relative they've never heard of before.

Don't get them wrong, they love their Grunkles Stan and Ford very much and loved it in Gravity Falls, but it still hurt that their parents would rather ship with off instead of actually spending time with them.

"Can't fault you for that…" Dipper said and trailed off. He then remembered the smell of the pie slices which were still in Mabel's hands and decided to change the subject and lighten the mood. "So, uh…that pie any good?" He ventured.

Mabel gave a soft appreciative smile and handed him the whole slice before sitting next to him with her own slightly eaten slice. "It's super good, bro. I didn't even know Bscotch-Cinnamon Pie existed before!"

With a ringing endorsement like that how could he resist? Dipper grabbed his fork and took a chunk off of the golden yellow and brown desert and stuck it in his mouth. The moment his taste buds registered the flavor he stiffened before relaxing into it and shutting his eyes with a blissful look. "Mmm…so good!" The boy moaned out around the fork.

"I know!" Mabel gushed, kicking her little legs wildly as she too dug into her pie.

"Whoa what the heck, it's gone!" Dipper exclaimed as the B-C Pie vanished from his mouth as he swallowed, as if it was made of air.

Mabel snorted at the astonished look on her brother's face before explaining. "Yeah, I almost freaked out too. Mom said that monster food is made mostly of magic, so when we eat it, it vanishes but you still get the energy and nutrition. So we get all the benefits with none of the consequences!"

Dipper looked at his pie with an amazed look. "All you can eat candy without killing your teeth?" He ventured.

"Infinite cheeseburgers without getting fat!" Mabel cheered with a grin

"Unlimited ice-cream without stomach aches!" They said in unison with a fist pump.

"Awesome!" Dipper concluded with a smile before he digging back into his pie.

It didn't take long for them to finish their pies and it was then that Mabel decided to show her brother something. "Come on, there's something I want to show you."

"Wait, Mabel!" They boy's protests were unheeded as his hyperactive sister grabbed his hand and nearly dragged out of the room and down the hall to the room next door.

"Mabel what did we just talk about?" Dipper whined.

"It's okay, Goat-Mom is busy knitting in the living room." Mabel reassured her overly paranoid brother as she entered the room.

"I was exploring the house before I helped Toriel with the pie and I found her room and this." Mabel said as she pulled Dipper over to a desk with a diary or journal on it.

"You read her journal? Not cool Mabel." Dipper admonished.

"It was already open, and I just read these two pages." She replied defensively. "But look at this, they're full of jokes!" She nearly cheered as she began to read from the book. "Why did the skeleton want a friend?" She paused and stared at her brother giddy expectation.

He just shrugged.

"Because he was feeling bonely!" She finished just before she burst into laughter.

"Boo…" Dipper heckled with a thoroughly unamused tone but there was a slight grin on his face.

"You have no sense of humor." Mabel groused, sticking her tongue at her 'humorless' brother "How about this, Did you hear about the guy who got hit in the head with a soda can? He was lucky it was a Soft Drink!"

This time the heard a fit of giggles erupt from the door and both of them whipped their heads toward it to see Toriel standing in the doorway trying not to lose it as she giggled into one hand while the other held her stomach.

"To-Torial I'm sorry, we shouldn't have come in here and read your journal without permission!" Dipper apologized quickly, scared that despite her mirthful state she may actually be very upset with the siblings' trespass.

"No-no its fine!" The faun said through her giggles, slightly mollifying the boy's worries. "I never said you two come in here, and I did leave the journal wide open, so that's my fault."

"Why is it full of so many puns and one liners?" Mabel asked as she tried to sneak a look at another page only for Dipper the slap her hand away.

"Oh well…there is a locked door in the Ruins and one day as I was passing it I heard a voice and a knock coming from it." Toriel began to explain as she sat on her bed and the twins sat on the floor in front of her to listen. "the voice said "Knock, Knock" so I replied "who's there?" the voice answered "Dishes." "Dishes who?" I asked. "Dishes a very bad joke!""

Mabel and Toriel began to giggle in unison while Dipper groaned but couldn't help grinning at the joke.

"It was so long since I last heard a good I couldn't help laughing like a lunatic and ever since then we'd trade jokes back and forth through the door." Toriel finished with a mirthful smile.

Mabel got the biggest most sparkly eyed expression on her face as grabbed her cheeks and gasped. "That's so romantic!" She almost squealed and Dipper rolled his eyes with a sigh, Match-Maker Mabel was back. "You two should meet up in person!" She gushed.

Toriel's mouth curved into a smile that was almost sad but not quite, almost nostalgic and she chuckled softly. "No, I've already had my time with romance and I'm not interested in trying again." She chuckled again, this time with more gusto. "Besides, no one's going to be interested in a silly old woman like me and the door is sealed."

"Don't be silly! You can't be that old! Our Grunkles Stan and Ford are old!" Mabel insisted.

"Yeah, you can be older than…what 28, maybe 34-ish?" Dipper ventured with a sheepish shrug, hard to judge her age what with the fur and goat face and all.

Mabel was about to reprimand her brother for 'probing a lady about her age' when Toriel burst out into fits and tucks of giggles and laughter, clutching her stomach like it hurt.

She wiped away a mirthful tear as she began to calm down and said. "Hahahaha, ahhh, if only you knew my child. Oh!" She started as she remembered something. "But enough about me have somethings for you two!" She said delightedly as she stood up, helped to twins up from the floor and guided them by the hands out of the room and up the hall toward the living area.

Mabel had already seen it but as Dipper examined it he saw that it was a warm and cozy area. A small dining table sat toward the southwest corner of the room, a large plush recliner near it, a small bookshelf filled with books of different colored covers, and a fireplace with a flame burning within it warming the area was the rest of the house was chilly.

As they neared the balmy fire Toriel released her gentle grip from the children's hands and blocked their view of the chair. She seemed to pick something up and turned around to show them what she had.

In her hands were two scarves and a sweater. The scarves were both the same color, which was a light chocolate brown color with some fringe dangling from the ends but there was one distinction between them. Both had a thick braided line going down the length of them on the center-right side of them and one had a bright yellow line while the other had deep red.

The sweater was also a deep red color turtle neck style with a blue pine tree on the chest.

"These are for you!" She chirped happily as she handed the yellow-lined scarf to Mabel and the red-lined scarf and sweater to Dipper. "This part of the Underground has a lot of holes in the ceiling that lets the cold mountain air in, so it gets very chilly in the Ruins."

"Wait it does? But other than that one hole we fell in I haven't seen any others." Mabel said as she wrapped her scarf around her neck.

"If I had to make I guess, it's probably that the trees and shrubbery are so thick that most of the other holes blend in with the dark ceiling." Dipper speculated as he removed his vest to put on the sweater over his shirt, followed by his scarf before replacing his vest. The sweater hugged his form more than Mabel's sweaters do and the sleeves stopped at his wrists. His souls still showed on his chest, almost as if it was as much a part of the sweater as the tree design.

"That's a very good theory; you're very smart for your age." Toriel complimented, getting the boy to flush bashfully.

Mabel draped herself over her brother shoulders from behind with a big goofy grin. "That's cuz he's a huge nerd!" She cheered, pressing her fingers into Dippers cheeks.

A frown so intense pulled at Dipper's mouth you could swear it was on the verge of physically falling off his face and Toriel couldn't help laughing at the twins antics.

Eventually Dipper was able to shoo away his sister and the trio decided to relax for the time being. Almost immediately he was drawn to the book shelf and one particular book caught his eye. "History of Monsters: Volume I." Dipper said to himself before opening the book and started to read.

 _Long ago, two races ruled over the Earth: Humans and Monsters. Until one day a war broke out between the two races. After a long battle, the humans were victorious. They forced us underground and sealed us within using a powerful magical barrier erected by seven human souls._

 _Fearful of further human attacks we retreated. Far, far into the earth we walked until we reached the caverns end. This was our new home, which we named "Home"._

"As great as out king is, he is pretty lousy at names." Dipper finished with a smirk but it quickly fell as the rest of the passages settled in his mind. _'Nothing about this was mentioned in our history lessons, how can our history with a whole other race of beings just not exist on the surface?'_ He asked himself mentally, absently flipping through random pages, glancing at the illustrations of humans and monster silhouettes. _'Also, who started the war and why?'_

With that Dipper let out a big, mighty yawn that was soon followed by his sister. Checking a watch he had on it has only been a few hours since the fell so it was fairly late now and they were still tired from the trek up, into, and through Mt. Ebbot.

"Oh my, even with that nap you must still be exhausted from the day's events." Toriel observed allowed with a tone of motherly concern.

She wasn't wrong; it took everything Dipper had left not to collapse like he did an hour or so earlier. He didn't even notice when Toriel picked him and Mabel up and carried them back to their room.

Before they even knew it Dipper and Mabel were back their beds and drifted back to sleep.

A few days later Dipper and Mabel returned to the house after exploring, finding little more than they saw yesterday, or the days before that. There was a rather dower ghost named Napstablook they met and Mabel manage to raise his _spirit_ a bit with jokes and encouragement, but that was about it and the ghost disappeared before Dipper could ask him for a way about of the ruins.

"Mabel, I know you like being with her, I do too, but we can't stay here forever. Grunkle Stan and Ford must be worried sick about us by now." Dipper said to his sister with a sad seriousness, the two sitting on one of the beds in their room.

Mabel looked down sadly. "I know Dipper, but I also don't want to leave her all alone in here. I get the feeling she been very sad until now."

"It's not like we are gonna abandon her." Dipper replied, trying to reassure his sister. "Once we find a way out we can visit her from time to time."

"But what if there is no way out? What if we can cross the barrier? We'd have left her for nothing." Mabel argued, remembering the history book Dipper told her about one of the nights before bed.

"We have to try." Dipper said with Determination before entering the house. Mabel reached out to stop him but hesitated before sadly following her brother.

The twins found their self-appointed caretaker in the living area, reading a book on her chair next to the warm fire. Hearing the duo enter the area she looked up from her book and Toriel gave them a warm smile. "Hello my children, how what your exploits through the ruins fair?"

"Uh, fine. We met a ghost named Napstablook and he seemed nice, if a bit depressed. But Mabel managed to cheer him up some." Dipper said, rubbing his arm nervously; and anxious knot forming in the pit of his stomach.

"That's wonderful to hear!" Toriel said gently. "I hope you two are settling in nicely." She added sincerely.

 _Oh no._

"I have already put together a curriculum for your education!" Her tone was almost giddy at the notion.

 _Please, this is already hard enough._

"This may come as a surprise but I've always wanted to become a teacher." Her brow creased and her smile became more nervous. "Or maybe not so surprising. Still…" Her face scrunched up into a more thoughtful look before shifting back to her usual cheery demeanor. "What there something you two wanted?"

Dipper steeled himself while Mabel remained silent behind him, equally as axious as him. Finally he said what needed to be said. "When can we go home?" He said bluntly. No point in dragging this out.

"Huh?" Hurt and confusion spread across the goat-woman's face. "Bu-but this is your home now!" She exclaimed, her voice wavering nervously.

"How do we exit the ruins?" Dipper asked again doing his best not to waver while his sister held back her tears, clutching one of the sleeves of the sweater Toriel made for them.

"I-I have to do something, wait here for a moment!" Toriel said quickly before sitting up from her chair and nearly ran out of the room toward the stairs that she said led into the basement.

"Toriel! Mom wait!" Mabel shouted as she ran down the stairs after her, with Dipper on her heels.

Immediately something felt wrong, instead of a basement the stairs led to a long dimly lit hallway made of purple-grey stone like the rest of the ruins. Toriel had sopped but kept her back to them.

"You wish to know how to return "home" do you know?" She questioned, her voice even and monotonous. "Ahead lies the end of the ruins, a doorway to the rest of the underground." She half-turned toward the twins, a grim expression on her face. "I am going to destroy it. No one will ever leave again." She stated.

Dipper and Mabel gasped at her declaration and looked at each other nervously, unsure what to say.

"Now go back upstairs and be good." Toriel ordered her children before turning away and continuing her way toward the exit.

They did not listen and continued to follow the woman that had cared for them the last few days. As they walked Toriel began to speak again. "Every human that falls down here meets the same fate." She began, her face schooled into a neutral frown and her voice still cold and even. "I have seen it again and again. They come. They leave. They die."

The children stopped and looked at he with shock and horror, and it was then that Dipper remembered. "The shoes…the toys…" He whispered.

Toriel stopped as well but did not turn toward them, she spoke. "You naïve children…if you leave the ruins. They…Asgore…will kill you." She looked over her shoulder at them. "I am only doing this to protect, understand? Now go to your room." She said more forcefully before continuing on and ended with. "This is your final warning; do not try to stop me." And then she turned a corner.

"Dipper, what do we do?" Mabel questioned, frightened of the things Toriel said and the way she was acting.

"We…we have to follow her Mabel. We have to find a way out." Dipper said with a hardening resolve, he was determined to get home to the Mystery Shack. Maybe Great Uncle Ford could help them find a way to break the barrier?

"You want to leave so badly?" Toriel inquired as she heard the twins approaching, a set of large violet double doors with the same emblem as that on her gown emblazoned on them in black. "Hmph. You two are just like the others."

"Fine, there is only one way to settle this..." She trailed off as she turned toward them. "Prove yourselves." She challenged as flames gathered in her hands, but this time they were orange and far more intense. "Show me you have the strength to survive!" Suddenly a black… _something_ spread away from Toriel at an alarming speed, engulfing the area. The twins shielded themselves from it but it passed over them harmlessly. The saw that the world around them had turned black and white and including themselves everything but their Souls, they felt a tug on them and they grew to cover more of their chests, almost as if protecting them.

Two green bars marked "HP 20/20" appeared as well as an assortment of "buttons" marked [FIGHT], [ACT], and [MERCY].

Toriel shot her hands forward and a duo of fire bullets soared toward the Mystery Twins. They both shouted in unison before diving out of the way and splitting up as a result.

"Toriel stop this!" Dipper protested, rolling to his feet to avoid another projectile. The [ACT] Button was glowing as he spoke.

"Toriel please! We don't have to do this!" Mabel pleaded and ducked under another fire blast herself.

Toriel did not respond to their words, her face set in a stony look of indifference as she sent wave after wave of flame.

"Momma, I don't want to fight you!" Tears streamed down Mabel's face as she tried to get through to the goat-woman that was more of a mother to her than her real one.

Toriel seemed to hesitate and her eyes welled up slightly with her own tears, but she quickly retook control of herself. She gestured with her hands and a line of fireballs formed in front of her that shot out all at once like a shotgun blast.

This time the twins couldn't dodge them all and got hit, Dipper in his right shoulder, stomach, and cheek while Mabel took a hit in her chest that burst away the star on her sweater.

"There is no other way, fight me or go upstairs." Toriel said in a tone that was paradoxically motherly and neutral. "I refuse lose another child to that man!"

 _Talking doesn't seem to be the solution_.

Mabel looked devastated while Dipper grit his teeth in frustration.

"Looks like we don't have much of a choice." The boy said to himself as he struggled to his feet. He reached into his vest and took out the large toy knife he found in the ruins, not really a suitable but it was sturdy and he didn't want to seriously hurt Toriel anyway.

 _A part of him was telling him this was a huge mistake._

The [FIGHT] button began to glow.

"That's right, here in the ruins any monsters you encounter can be reasoned with. But not outside, not Asgore and his ilk." Toriel said with distain and the battle began anew.

"Dipper, no!" Mabel wailed but it was too late.

Dipper swung once seemingly harmless toy knife once.

A deep wound appeared on Toriel, a slash the when from her left cheek, across her back, and over her belly from the left, tearing her dress.

Shock spread across all three parties as Toriel fell to her knees and clutched the gaping wound on her side. Mabel shrieked and cried, Dipper dropped the knife and recoiled from it in horror.

"Heheh…heh…you are much stronger than I thought." Toriel chuckled out weakly as the purple dress darkened with her blood.

"No…nonono, I didn't m-mean too, I thought it was just a toy!" Dipper stammered.

"It is just a toy; this is why we lost so badly against the humans so long ago. A monster soul is nothing compared to a human's."

"Dipper how could you!?" Mabel cried angrily at her brother, why didn't wouldn't listen to her!

 _Why didn't you show mercy!_

Dipper was beginning to hyperventilate. "Nonononononono, I'm sorry I didn't mean too!" He pleaded, tears beginning to well in his chocolate colored eyes.

"It's alright Dipper, Mabel, now I know you two can survive out there." Toriel cooed reassuringly to the twins before coughing up a small bit of blood. "Listen to me little ones; please be good, won't you?" See asked as her form began to grow fuzzy. "Asgore…do not let Asgore take…your…souls…my children…"

Her body blew away in a flurry of white and purple dust and all that remained was a tiny, white upside down heart that quivered in the air. Her soul.

"Toriel…" Dipper dolefully whispered.

The soul cracked.

"Momma…" Mabel said weepily.

The soul shattered, a blew away as its owner did.

" _MOTHER!"_ They both wailed sorrowfully, falling onto their knees in the dust of the woman that was so kind to them, tears streaming down their faces and clearing channels out of the dust the landing on them.

"No…no, no, no I'm sorry, I didn't mean to!"

"Mommy…"

"I take it back, I take it back, I didn't want this!"

"No…"

"I want to go back, I want to try again!"

Suddenly, the two found themselves once again within the black void but this time they were alone, and they did not see the outlining of objects around them this time.

"Where are we? What's happening now?" Dipper questioned nervously, but Mabel stayed silent and frightened.

And before them, two "buttons" just like before floated before them.

[Continue] or [RESET]

Hesitantly, Dipper reached out to the [RESET] button, and everything went white.

And so ends another chapter…that got really heavy at the end there. Hope you guys liked it!


	4. Not so Spooky Skeletons

**_Pines Under The Mountain_**

Complete List of Head Canon Voices for Undertale Characters that matter

Chara/Vergil: V'UHSSLG HFLRY

Toriel: Rose Quartz from Steven Universe

Flowey/Omega Flowey: CrashBoomBanger Tumblr

Asriel: Simba from the Lion King

Adult Asriel: Weeaboss for God of Hyperdeath 2nd form (Trust me his Flowey and kid Asriel voices might suck but God of Hyperdeath sounds really good) and Treecko231 for normal teenager/adult youtube

Sans: CrashBoomBanger or Shadic x250

Papyrus: CrashBoomBanger (Headcanon, hides that he has the same Bronx-like accent as Sans but can slip up if he's frustrated enough)

Grillby: Seymour VAA (with slight echo effect) youtube

Asgore: CrashBoomBanger (sensing a pattern?) or Mufasa from Lion King

Bugerpants: CrashBoomBanger

Mettaton: The Nth Human youtube

Muffet: Katerinu2 youtube

Alphys & Undyne: LitterBox youtube Sleepover Horror. Alt voice for Undyne: Jasper from Steven Universe

Monster Kid: KayVox Papyrus's New Fan youtube

And finally Gaster: David near youtube (with a digital filter added) or Namelessdubs youtube [Undertale Comic Dub] – Insomnia

A/N: Sorry for this being later than the others. I just recently got into the Mystery Skulls Animated fandom and it has consumed my life for the last few days or so with their awesome animation and some great fanfics and comics. I'm also starting a Mystery Skulls fanfic that crosses over with Gravity Falls called Gravity Skulls that takes place right after Freaking Out.

I recommend you guys watch Mystery Skulls Animated Ghost and Freaking Out by MysteryBen, even if you don't like the music the story the animation tells is really interesting!

Also, I'm going to have Dipper and Mabel slowly learn parkour-like skills as they travel from learning how to dodge through trail, error, and lots of resets/loads. Dipper will have a bit of a head start from his training with the Manotaurs.

Chapter 4: Not So Spooky Scary Skeletons

Dipper and Mabel started out of a daze; the both whipped their heads around with panicked expressions. They were no longer in the Fight Zone or the empty void with the [RESET] [Continue] buttons, they were back in the hallway before the door, and they could see Toriel with her back to them, waiting.

"We…we're back?" Mabel inquired nothing in particular as she examined the walls.

"It…worked? The [RESET] button actually sent us back." Dipper said his tone becoming ecstatic and light tears built up in his eyes, Mabel's as well when it dawned on her fully. Toriel is okay now!

"But…how are we going to get passed mom without…doing that again?" She asked glumly. She knew they still had to leave but if they had to hurt Momma-Tori to do it then she wasn't going to leave.

"I…I think I have an idea, "Dipper stated before continuing. "just follow my lead okay? I'm…I'm not going to hurt Tor-…I'm not gonna hurt mom again." He assured his sister how have a small smile of appreciation. Dipper offered his hand to Mabel and she accepted it as they both made their way to Toriel.

The Puca (google Gaijin Goomba Undertale) woman turned to face them, her face once again stoic. "You really want to leave so badly?"

"We have to mom, we have friends and family up there that must be worried sick about us." Dipper stated plainly his grip on his sister's hand tightening slightly before he let go.

Toriel hesitated slightly, Dipper…Dipper called her mom just like his sister has been.

"Our Grunkle Ford knows all kinds of science-y magic gobbledygook, if we ask him he might know how to break the barrier." Mabel reasoned, hoping she would listen.

*Cue [Undertale Themed] Ikanaide – English Cover [Angela]*

"N…NO!" Toriel roared as her hands ignited and the braziers near the door burst into pyres of flame. Dipper and Mabel felt a tug on their souls once again and they were dragged into the battle zone once again. "I can't risk it; I can't lose any more children to _him_ , fight me or go to back upstairs!" She sent a wave of fire at the two children.

Thinking fast the both dodged in separate directions as before.

 _'This is going just like last time, she just won't listen.'_ Mabel said in her mind, she looked toward Dipper and her eyes widen in horror at what she saw. He was reaching into his pocket and he took out the knife again. _'No, not again!'_

Dipper held the toy knife in front of him and looked Toriel strait in the eye, the air grew tense as Toriel waited to see what the human boy would do, fight or flee?

The boy pulled the knife back like he was readying to charge Toriel, but as he swung it he let go and threw it into the distance, all could here the hardened plastic clattering down the stone hall way.

"….." Toriel gave Dipper a look, her eyebrow slightly peaked. "What are you doing?" She asked incredulously, Mabel stepping to her brother's side and locking her hand with his. "Attack me or run away."

"No, I will not hurt you, I refuse too." Dipper rebutted vehemently, his gaze hardening with resolve and his sister was mirroring him. The [Mercy] button glowing bright yellow in the battle space.

"What are you trying to prove this way!?" Toriel shouted in desperate anger as she tossed fireballs at them. They did not move and let them hit, cringing at the heat but otherwise not seriously hurt. "Fight me or leave!"

They gave no reply, the simply continued to stare at her with those damned resilient eyes, eyes filled with determination that reminded her of something, especially Dipper's who's eyes looked so much like…

Tears began to swell within Toriel's eyes and she gritted her teeth in frustration. "You have to stay…or prove to me that you can survive out there…" She choked out the tears beginning to fall. "So please just go to bed…or kill me!" She shouted out and sent out a stream of fire from her hands that threatened to engulf the hall and the children in it.

But as the flames approached the bent and weaved around them, not touching their skin, only warming them.

When the fire died away they still stood their holding hands, their faces still set in that steely gaze even as tears fell from their eyes and Mabel trembled slightly with the effort not to break into sobs, Dipper always did have a better grip on his emotions than his sister who always wore her heart on her sleeve.

"Please…I know we don't have much…" Toriel begged, forcing a watery smile onto her face. "But we can live a good life down here."

They only continued to stare at her with their watery eyes, not able to trust their own voices not to break.

"Just go upstairs and…we can be like a family…"

"We ha…we have a family…" Dipper chocked out. "Our uncles."

"But…I…You called me…"

"Toriel…" Mabel cut in with a wobbly voice. "Our parents can hardly be called such…we barely saw them and every promise to do something with them was broken." She tried her best to smile and Dipper did the same. "You have been more of a mother to us in the time we've been here than our real mom has in twelve years. We wish we could stay…"

Dipper took over. "But our great uncles were the only family we felt close too and they must be worried sick and our friends too."

"Please…just let us go…" They finished in unison, the knuckles of their entangled hands turning white from how hard they were squeezing and the tears running freely.

"Were?...You said…they were the only close family you had?" Toriel asked in teary confusion, the flames flickering.

The twins smiled, truly smiled; the tears still flowing freely. "Now we have one more to count as family…" Mabel half-choked half-laughed her reply.

If it were possible the tears in Toriel's eyes would have fallen harder, the flames completely died from her hands and she rushed to pull the twins into the tightest hug she could muster, collapsing to her knees to their level.

Dipper and Mabel let go of each other's hands and returned the hug just as intensely.

"I…I know I can't keep you here…" Toriel whimpered. "The Ruins feel small after a while, and you'd just be unhappy cooped up down here away from your friends and family."

"Great Uncle Ford…he knows all kinds of magical science stuff…maybe he can break the barrier…" Dipper murmured into her dress while Mabel just quietly wept into it.

"I doubt it…but it couldn't hurt to try…" She mused before she stood up, but her hands stayed on their shoulders. "I'll let you go…"

"Come with us." Mabel requested but Toriel shook her head.

"I can't, I must stay here incase another human falls down here. They might even be a friend of yours…and I must ask you two to never return once you pass the gates.

Before they could respond she picked them both up and hugged them in each arm. "I know we have only known each other for a short time…but…I love you both so much, as if you were my own blood…"

"We…" "We love you too…mom…" Dipper started and Mabel finished returning the hug, their tiny arms circling her neck.

They all felt warm again, but it wasn't from the fire this time. It was a comforting warmth that radiated from their very souls.

Gently she placed them back on the ground and walked passed them to the hall. She paused and turned toward them half way, a sad smile creasing her muzzle. "Goodbye my children…I hope we will meet again someday…and please, be good won't you?" She continued down the hall and she was gone.

Dipper and Mabel did not leave right away, they were too heartbroken, and yet at the same time happy to at the moment.

"This…this isn't a dream right?" Mabel asked her brother as she leaned against the door. "We…actually went back and fixed the mistake? We saved Toriel?" She slid down until she was sitting on the ground.

Dipper joined her and pulled his sister unto a half-hug. "Yeah Mabel…we saved Toriel. I don't know how, but somehow we went back and fixed it."

"Good." No words could describe how relieved and happy the girl was, but that was a good start.

For a while they just stayed there, Dipper leaning against the door while Mabel leaned on his shoulder and he stroked her hair. But eventually the hadto get up and move forward.

"Come on Mabs, we have to get moving. The sooner we get out of here, the sooner we can get Grunkle Ford to look into the barrier."

They helped each other up and opened the gates, inside was a dark room with a single point of slight that shined from another hole in the ceiling and in that light was a familiar, yellow plant.

And he had the smuggest little grin on his white cartoonish face. "You think your so cleaver don't you?" His tone as smug as his face, his petals lowering in a way that suggested an air of superiority.

Dipper put himself between the Flowey and his sister and held a strong front. "What're you doing here?" He demanded.

The flower ignored the question and continued his tangent. "Do not think I do not know what you did." Dread filled Dipper's chest. "You _murdered_ her, and despite the girl's please you did not even try to spare her, you didn't even try to shoe Mercy." His face twisted into that gargoyle-like smile. "And then you went back because you felt guilty! HeheheYAHAHAHAHA!"

Flowey cackled like a maniac and then stopped suddenly, his face schooled into a condescending smirk once again. "But so what if you killed, you can always go back, always RESET and try again. But what happens if you find yourself against a relentless killer? Will you kill again out of frustration, or give up and let me inherit your power?" His face twisted into a manic grin. "I am the prince of this world's future!"

The twins were shaken by the flower's apparent knowledge of what did and yet did not happen but Dipper did not let his fear and guilt show. "If you're going to attack us just get it over with, I've had enough with long winded speeches!"

Flowey's amorphous face shifted again, back to the smug grin though he looked slightly annoyed. "Oh, I'm not gonna kill you my little monarchs, not yet at least, this story has just gotten a lot more interesting. Until the time comes though, I will be watching you!"

Flowey's face physically grew and out grew his body with a twisted grin and he cackled that warbling laugh once again before he disappeared into the earth, the familiar words leaving an impact on the Pines twins.

 _"I'll be watching you, AHAHAHAHAHA!"_

"Let's get out of here." Dipper insisted, getting no argument from Mabel as they found another door and made their way out.

-Pines Under The Mountain-

Pass the gate the Twins found themselves in a dark, snowy forest. Dipper was suddenly very grateful for the sweater and scarves Toriel gave them because if the ruins were chilly the underground forest was downright _frigid_ by comparison.

"Brrr…out of the fire and into the freezer, huh Dip?" Mabel asked as she pulled her little hands into sleeves and tucked them into her armpits.

Dipper decided to zip up his vest and pulled the hood over his head. "In any other scenario that metaphor would make no sense." He teased.

They then fell into a comfortable silence and began their trek through the snowy woods. The trees were dark and what little sunlight that made it through the ceiling of the cavern did very little help that. They could see just fine but the forest was full of shadows with who knows what hidden within…

Or beneath them…

"Whoa-oaf!"

Dipper tripped over a fallen branch half-buried in the snow and fell flat on his face.

"Aw…this stick looks like you!" Mabel joked, trying to bring the mood up to pre-fighting step-mom levels.

She succeeded. "Oh haha, a Dip-Stick joke thou art very original indeed..." His voice was muffled by the snow his face was still firmly planted into but he picked himself up shortly after, wiping the snow and the odd leaf away.

"Oh no, he's using his Nerdlish, I think I made 'im mad." Mabel spoke to herself teasingly to further annoy and improve Dipper's and her own moods. (I word good)

"C'mon stupid, let's keep moving." Dipper chuckled as he resumed the walk.

"Whatever you say stupid!" Mabel cheered as she quickly matched her bro's pace.

Neither noticed they were being watched since they came through the door.

"Hey Dipper, before we fell down here I learned this song that's pretty popular on the internet." Mabel piped up.

"No." Dipper denied but his sister would not be so easily dissuaded.

"Oh come on. Maybe you heard of it?" The she sang.

 _"You're walking in the woods._

 _There's no one around,"_

"Stop it…"

 _"And your phone is dead._

 _Out of the corner of your eye you spot him,_

 _Shia La-"_

 ***CRACK***

A loud wooden crack came from behind and they both whipped around to see the thick heavy branch snapped in half on the ground. The twins let out a nervous sound before turning back around and walking faster down the path.

They definitely felt eyes on their backs now, but every time the turned or thought they saw movement in the corner of their eyes it would disappear as soon as they turned.

They were stopped when they came to a small bridge that spanned a hole just big enough to not allow jumping, and a "gate" that was too large to stop anyone and looked more like a Japanese shrine entryway.

But they stopped because they suddenly could hear snow being crushed under slow footsteps and they felt like they couldn't move their feet, not noting the faint blue tint their souls on their chests had taken.

Slowly the snow steps got louder and closer until they stopped just behind them, just _inches_ behind them!

"Hey there…" A voice spoke to them, low and ominous. "Don't you two know how to greet a new pal?" It asked with an accusatory tone, almost sounding offended. "Turn around and shake my hand."

Suddenly they could move again, and the both of them slowly turned around to meet the figure. He had a hood on that hid his face and the shadows of the forest weren't helping them see much detail. They both looked at the offered hand and notice how then the fingers were, almost skeletal.

Mabel decided to take the initiative and hesitantly reach out to take the stranger's hand.

"Mabel…" Dipper warned worriedly but didn't stop her.

The slightly elder Pines gripped the stranger's hand and squeezed.

 ** _*PHHHHBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB!*_**

A very loud, very rude, and very familiar sound blared from the stranger's and Mabel's interlocked hands and the figure began to shake with mirth.

At that moment the sunlight that bled through the ceiling revealed the figure and he leaned back as he began to laugh hysterically the hood falling off to reveal him fully.

He was a skeleton not much taller than the twins, he wore a blue fur-lined hooded jacket with a white Black Mesa T-shirt underneath, a pair of black basketball shorts with a white stripe running down one leg, and a pair of blue and white sneakers.

After a moment the skeleton calmed down and whipped away an imaginary tear, his mouth, which oddly lacked the normal skeletal jawline and joints, was stretched into a permanent toothy smile that again lacked any kind of skeletal appearance.

"the old whoopy cushion in the hand trick, always funny!" He spoke with a Bronx like accent, his voice seeming to have a chuckling quality to it.

Still holding the hand that farted Mabel looked at Dipper with a sparkle of wonder in her eyes. "I love him." She whispered.

"You would…" Dipper deadpanned with an utterly confused/concerned expression.

"so you guys are human right? that's hilarious." The skeleton stated, his seemingly permanent grin widening slightly more. "i'm sans, sans the skeleton. and you two are?"

"I'm Mabel Pines, and this is my brother Dipper." Mabel introduces herself and her brother.

"pines huh? did ya fall down here or pop out of a pinecone?" He joked while giving a mock suspicious glance to the forest, earning a small giggle from Mabel.

"We fell down here a few days ago before we found our way here." Dipper replied, starting to feel a bit more at ease with the skeleton but still suspicious. Toriel did warn them that the monsters outside of the Ruins would be after their souls.

The skeleton, Sans nodded in understanding. "well, I'm a sentry on the lookout for humans like you two." The twins gave nervous glances to each other but Sans shook his head and shrugged in a disarming manner. "but truth be told, I don't feel like capturing anyone."

The twins relaxed and sighed with relief. "M' brother on the other hands, he's a human huntin' fanatic."

Oh boy.

Sans took one of his hands out of his pockets, showing the blue and white parkour glove that was covering it, missing it's thumb, ring, and pinkie fingers. He put the hand over his eyes like half of a pair of "hand binoculars" and squinted into the distance. "actually, I think that's my bro over there." He said pointing with his other hand which was also wearing a parkour glove.

The twins squinted and looked where his boney hand was pointing and could see a distant figure making its way here.

Sans' grin widened ever so slightly. "hehe, I have an idea. quick go through this gate, my bro made the bars to wide to stop anyone."

Considering they couldn't go back even if they wanted to, and they had no other options anyway, Dipper and Mabel decided to do as Sans said. The two crossed the bridge with Sans close behind.

Right as the passed over the hole they noticed a…kiosk and a pair of lamps?

"quick, hide behind those conveniently shaped lamps." Sans urged them with what this writer can only describe as "Lazy Excitement".

Confused and curious he twins obliged, they were surprised to find that the lamps were shaped almost exactly like them; even the bill of Dippers hat was concealed behind the light fixtures.

"Something's not right here, this _can't_ be a coincidence!" Dipper whispered over to his sister.

"SAAAAAAAAANS!" A high, nasally voice screamed ahead and a taller, lankier skeleton in a strange outfit ran up, looking none too pleased.

"sup, bro?" Sans said casually.

"YOU KNOW WHAT'S "'SUP," BROTHER! IT'S EIGHT DAYS AND YOU STILL HAVEN'T. RECALIBRATED. YOUR. PUZZELS!" The taller skeleton, Papyrus his brother said earlier. "YOU JUST HANG AROUND YOUR STATION ALL DAY! WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?"

"just checkin' out these lamps over here, they're really cool, wanna look?"

"What they hell is he doing!? Is he trying to get us caught?" Dipper whispered to his sister."

"NO! I DON'T HAVE TIME FORE THAT!" Papyrus declined, stomping on the ground angrily. "WHAT IF A HUMAN COMES HERE? I WANT TO BE READY! I WANT TO BE, NO I MUST BE THE ONE TO CAPTUE A HUMAN!"

I struck a pose, his scarf flapping in a non-existent breeze. "THE I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL GET WHAT I YTTERLY DESERVE! RESPECT…RECOGNITION…I WILL FINALLY BE ABLE TO JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD! PEOPLE WILL ASK TO BE MY "FRIEND?" I WILL BATH IN A SHOWER OF KISSES EVERY MORNING."

"Is this guy for real?" Dipper said skeptically to himself while his sister grinned silently at the silly skeleton.

"hmm…maybe these lamps will help you." Sans said cheekily and further heckling Dipper.

Papyrus resumed stomping the ground in annoyance. "SANS, YOU ARE NOT HELPING, YOU LAZYBONES! ALL YOU DO IS SIT HERE AND BOONDOGLE, GETTING LAZIER AND LAZIER EVERYDAY!"

"aww, common bro, I've been working a ton, a skele-ton!"

Sans winked toward the twins and Dipper could practically _hear_ the "badum-tish" of a drum at the terrible pun while his sister tried desperately to hold in her giggles.

"SANS!" Papyrus shouted at his brother bemusedly.

"awe come on, you're smilin'."

"I AM AND I HATE IT." Papyrus' tone was deadpan as he did in fact have a wry smile before giving a defeated sigh. "WHY DOES SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME…HAVE TO DO SO MUCH WORK JUST TO GET SOME RECOGNITION?"

"wow, you must really be working yourself…down to the bone."

"URGH!"

"Oh god, that one physically hurt." Dipper said dryly while Mabel was snorting mirthfully into her hands, trying not to alert the taller skeleton.

"I WILL ATTEND TO ME PUZZLES, AS FOR YOU'RE WORK? TRY TO PUT A LITTLE MORE…"

"Oh no…" Dipper bemoaned.

"BACKBONE INTO IT! NYEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!" Papyrus ran off, cackling to whole way until his head disappeared below the hill, before popping back up briefly. "HEH!" and then he was gone

"alright, you can come out now." Sans called to the twins.

"Dude, why did you keep trying to get him to find us!?" Dipper shouted angrily, leaning around the lamp.

"what're ya talkin' about? i just told him the lamps looked cool." Sans defended with a lazy shrug. "'sides, i knew he wouldn't look at them and i love messin' with him, so no harm done, right?"

Dipper continued to give him an annoyed glare but then Mabel grabbed his arm and shook him playfully. "Come on bro-bro, he was just joking around and you have to admit it was funny!"

"Watching his brother get so worked up?...yeah it was kinda funny." Dipper relented with a half-smile.

"hehe, well you two better get movin' now, if you stay I might subject you to more of my hilarious jokes!" Sans "threatened" as he shooed them away with one hand.

Mabel looked tempted to stay but her brother's firm hand grabbing her collar and dragging her backwards through the forest put a quick end to that. "Thanks for the help!" She called out waving at the skeleton enthusiastically as her feet carved trenches into the snow.

Sans returned the wave with a friendly grin. "no problem…actually wait hold on the sec." He called and the two stopped looking back toward Sans. "Can ya do me a favor? i hate to bother you but i was thinking…" He rubbed his head in a seemingly nervous gesture. "my bro's been kinda down lately…he's never seen a human before and seeing two of ya might just make his day."

The twins looked at each other with worried looks. "You do know he's trying to capture us, right?" Dipper ventured incredulously.

Sans waved off concerns. "Oh don't worry about that, he ain't dangerous or nothin' even if he tries to be."

The two human children huddled together and crouched down, Sans could hear them debating, is smile grew slightly at the display remembering when he and Paps were younger and after a moment they both stood back up.

"I guess we can play along, if he's really as harmless as you say." Dipper agreed though it was obviously reluctant.

"thanks a million, kiddies." Sans said with some amount of gratitude. i'll be up ahead." Sans then walked back the way they came, the complete opposite direction Papyrus went.

"He does know that his brother when the other way, right?" Dipper asked his sister, perplexed at the skeleton's behavior.

"Maybe he forgot something over there?" Mabel ventured with a shrug, equally as confused about this as her brother.

Deciding not to think about it, the Pines continued forward, on to their next adventure.

FINALLY! Sorry this took so long, I just haven't been writing much these last few weeks. While updates might still take much longer than I'd prefer I'll try to speed it up a little bit and I'm going to use a system as to avoid neglecting this and a couple other fics. First I will update this, then I will concentrate on Gravity Skulls until THAT is updated, then back to this and so on, that way I can keep these two fics updated more regularly.


End file.
